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Listen to... Aklo featuring Crystal Kay - I don't care

Trilingual (Japanese, Español and English) Tokyo born rapper Aklo released his second full length studio album The arrival last week and it features a collaboration from the woman of the moment that will never come, Crystal Kay. Frankly speaking, her stint on this song is better than everything she's dropped this year in her bid to crack the Western market. She's playing the chorus girl, but she plays it brilliantly to the point where you kinda wish the entire song was hers. Although Aklo more than makes his presence felt on the track.

"I don't care" is produced by BACHLOGIC who has a history with Crystal Kay, having produced and written songs for her in the past and most recently her grossly overlooked album Vivid, which was a fucking good album.

"I don't care" would have made a great single and could have had such a fun video of Aklo and Crystal Kay expending their bravado, playing the hip king and fly queen of the Tokyo nightlife. The song gives off a similar vibe to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire state of mind", with both artists holding their complete own on the track and the song feeling like a cross sectional anthem.

Aklo has been riding high over the past year with an EP, a tour and the run up to the long awaited release of his second full length album The arrival. Aklo fills a void in Japanese rap for the guy who is more than happy to sit alongside his national reaching contemporaries in pop, as opposed to staying underground because the game dictates that's where a homie should stay to show true hustle. The only other act who was filling this for a while was Verbal. But with his output as part of M-Flo being utter shit, his solo album being an underwhelming mess, the Teryiaki boyz as good as dead and him focusing on his AMBUSH fashion line, he's not really saying much on this front, leaving the path open for Aklo. There was Kreva, but he never had swag and his flow was too crusty for pop radio, even though he made his fair share of appearances on pop records over the years. Aklo is young, the dude can rap, has a cool voice and is much more marketable. He's definitely one to watch.

I'mma just sit here and pray on a chrysanthemum in a pond that that Aklo and Crystal Kay become the Jay-Z and Beyoncé of Japan.

It's rumoured to feature on his next album as a bonus track. But with Usher having pushed the album back to 2015, that could change, with him either making it part of the main tracklist of dropping it completely.

ughhh...wtf?! crystal is killing on this and i'm feeling it BIG time. aklo is cute, the song has me snapping my neck, and again, crystal is killing. i'm wondering if any mainstream artist stateside could get her on a GOOD feature and finally get her the exposure she's looking for (and deserves!)

I need a glass of water after hearing that because that track was hot! I accepted Random J's assessment of Verbal, but I had my doubts that this Aklo person could spit hot fire like one of my personal favorite Japanese rappers, Kreva. To my pleasant surprise, this did indeed blow Kreva out of the water why Crystal snatched several braids out from the root as she scalped Alicia Keys with her back vocals. I would love to see a video for this song, as it might give CK another possible career avenue when she inevitably has to return to Japan when the funds run out here and her US debut doesn't go according to plan.

I hope she makes it, but if Utada and BoA have taught us nothing but one thing, it is that it's hard out her for an Asian when you're trying to break into a Western music market. Crystal may suffer from that curse as well, even if she has the half black thing working for her... or not.